CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — At one time, sporadic playoff appearances were enough to get the at Kenwood High fan base excited.

Sporadic playoff appearances these days would be enough to cause some anxiety for the Knights' fan base.

For the past four years, including this fall, Kenwood has been an annual participant in the Tennessee high school football postseason competition, and the program is in no hurry to return to the days when playing only the allotted 10 regular-season games was enough.

The playoff streak started a year before Kenwood coach Brian Beaubien took over as the head coach, but he's essentially been the major architect of Kenwood's prolonged success.

And this season has proven to be his best as Kenwood walks into the second round of the Class 4A playoffs Friday with an 8-3 record. The Knights will face Springfield at 7 p.m. for the chance to advance to the state quarterfinals.

Kenwood hasn't been to a state quarterfinal game since 1999 when Terry Arrington, former Kenwood coach and current Northeast head man took the Knights to the state semifinal.

But this program is the handiwork of Beaubien whose previous two Kenwood playoff teams entered the postseason with 5-5 records (in 2013 and 2014). Kenwood has benefited from dropping down a classification to 4A where it faces a much more manageable schedule void of those Goliath schools that have nearly double the enrollment numbers of Kenwood.

The Leaf-Chronicle caught up with Beaubien to discuss his team's season and the expectations that now rest on the football program's shoulder.

Q: Talking with you this past summer before the season started, you were cautiously optimistic about this season. I think you were trying to figure out what kind of team you had after the graduation of guys like Malcolm Perry.

Beaubien: "That's exactly what we were trying to do early on. We were trying to find an identity. We had to find out exactly what this team could do and what they were all about. You know we only returned seven starters total on offense and defense combined. I knew we'd have some inexperience in a lot of spots because we didn't just lose Malcolm, we lost a great senior class, and we just didn't know exactly what we had, but we knew we had some athletes."

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Kenwood enters Friday's game having already hosted a playoff game last week. It's the first time since 1999 that the Knights have hosted more than one playoff game.(Photo: George Robinson/The Leaf-Chronicle)

Q: Despite that youth, the seniors on this team, if anything, have learned how to lead. They've enjoyed a sustained period of success here.

Beaubien: "They have. They are the first class to go through these halls having never known the feeling of not making the playoffs. That's a pretty significant accomplishment, and it's something that our coaches remind them and that they are proud of. Not a lot of schools or seniors can say that."

Q: At what point during the season did you feel this was going to be your best season to date?

Beaubien: "I don't know if there was any one moment. I know that early on we wondered if these kids would be ready for the Friday lights or if they could respond. We had our bumps along the way, but if you look at our regular season as a whole, you have to say that they responded like a great team responds. We went from a team hoping to win to a team that expects to win, and that's how our program operates these days."

Q:That leads into the next question of if there is pressure now at Kenwood to produce playoff teams every year and is that realistic?

Beaubien: "Well, schools go through peaks and valleys, but there isn't a coach out there that isn't trying to improve each year no matter if you win a state championship. You win one; you want to win another. And another. And another. High expectations are a good thing. Your kids know from the start what is expected of them and what we want to accomplish as a team each year, and they bust their butts trying to deliver that each year. We want people to think of us as a playoff team every year. That means we're all doing our jobs."

Q:You referred to your team responding this year. As the season progressed this year and your team got better, is it fair to say that the team that beat (10th-ranked) Lipscomb (Academy) at the end of the regular season for the region title could not have done that if it was Week 1 or Week 2?

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Brian Beaubien(Photo: George Robinson/The Leaf-Chronicle)

Beaubien: "Probably not. As the year went on, our team transformed in terms of their maturity level. The talent has always been there but the focus may not have been at times early in the season. But we talked about 19-Four-1 this season. That means we're the 19th Kenwood football team in the program's history, and we want to make this our fourth straight playoff appearance and win our first region championship. We accomplished the last two of those numbers. That's special."

Q:As you face Springfield (whichbeat Kenwood, 36-6, Oct. 9) how do you find balance with an offense that has become increasingly dependent on Antwuan Branch for production? As you advance deeper in the playoffs, there will be tougher teams that could be better at taking away Antwuan as an option.

Beaubien: "We always go into games with multiple options offensively. But you have to consider how the game is shaping up. You have to factor in the elements. It's been a rainy back-half of the schedule that's lent us to running the ball more, so Antwuan has been getting the carries. We've also found something that works during a game, and we go with that until it doesn't work anymore."

Q:Will this be a different game this time around against the Yellow Jackets?

Beaubien: "We feel it will be. Springfield is a great team. They have guys at every skill position on offense that can break a game open. But I felt like our last game with them, we matched up well. We had a ton of penalties and turnovers that really cost us. Antwuan ran for over 200 yards in that game, but we couldn't score points. We moved the ball on them. We just couldn't finish. We have to finish Friday."

Reach Prep writer George Robinson at 931-245-0747 and on Twitter @Cville_Sports.

KNIGHTS' EXPLOITS

Antwuan Branch: The sophomore running back is one of the state's top running backs with 2,456 yards and 26 TDs.

James Williams: Williams is the Knights' quarterback who has thrown for 278 yards and three TDs this season. He's also run for 110 yards.

RaeQuan Blackwell: Blackwell is often paired the backfield with Branch. He has 310 rushing yards and three scores.

Kenwood is currently on a three-game win streak and has won six of its past seven games.